Cheshire officer wins national Response Officer of the Year Award

Crewe's Police Constable Rod Bell, who has been a Response Officer with the Constabulary for the entirety of his 18 years of service.

Working in Crewe for nearly two decades has meant that Rod has built a rapport with many of the town's residents which, in turn, has assisted in him gaining countless amounts of valuable intelligence of the area that has been beneficial to diffusing difficult situations.

Described by colleagues as the ‘go-to’ officer for arrest attempts due to his unparalleled tenacity and skill, PC Rod Bell has made over 1,800 arrests (112 made in 2023 alone). His enthusiasm for response policing is often mirrored in his colleagues, with many believing PC Bell has inspired a generation of response officers who regularly strive to match up to his lofty reputation.

His passion for arresting drink and drug drivers in particular is evident in his proactive approach to policing; his dedication to this over the years has prevented numerous collisions with potentially tragic outcomes.

PC Bell’s upcoming retirement will likely be a huge loss to Crewe LPU and many colleagues will attest to the fact that he will be missed greatly by both them and the residents of Crewe.

Police Constable Chelsey Jukes is still considerably new in her policing career, having been a Response Officer in Warrington for three years. Despite this, she is considered a role model to her fellow officers, often being sought after for guidance and being a valuable asset for any team.

Described as an “excellent" and “diligent" officer​, Chelsey is a proud female Police officer, who works tirelessly to upkeep this reputation and is well-liked by all.

Her delicate approach is often utilised for the vulnerable and sensitive victims of crime we as a force regularly protect and serve. Chelsey is balanced and dynamic, she can easily adjust her policing style to suit the situation she is faced with. 

A reliable officer, Chelsey is often somebody her supervisors lean on when a job requires a specific officer with courage and detail.

Occasionally when an officer is required for service recovery, Chelsey is the first to be selected.

She supports her colleagues with their work and their wellbeing as well as acknowledging when she might need some help herself. She is not afraid to seek self-help and has in fact utilised the counselling service, which is really positive to see. To be at your best and to deliver the best possible service to the public, you must be fit for your role, and this just demonstrates her willingness to do this.

Chesley is an excellent team player, she is always the first to support her colleagues and, even in the face of most incidents, she volunteers where others may shy away.

Recently Chesley was the attending officer at an incident involving the sudden and unexpected death of a child. Despite being three years into the job, not being detective trained and feeling very much out of her comfort zone, the patience, professionalism, and empathy Chelsey demonstrated under such pressure was commendable, leaving her supervisors full of pride with how well she represented the force in such a difficult situation.

Further to this, Chesley was the first at a scene of a train jumper and whilst none of these incidents are ever easy, this particular incident was very traumatic.

The person's body parts were strewn for yards across the train tracks, Chesley was tasked with the body, keeping the area as sterile as possible.

On a lighter note, Chesley is her block's go-to foot chaser and, to date, she has never lost a foot chase and captured all those she has pursued.

She is one of the top-performing officers in her team, especially for stop searches. Chelsey has submitted over 100 pieces of intelligence, which is by far the highest across the block and one of the highest across the Warrington Local Policing Unit.

She has also personally arrested over 80 suspects, 32 of them being domestic-related. ​

Police Constable Nathan Holland, has been with the Constabulary for four years, and despite this, supervisors say he outshines most other response officers with his traffic offence knowledge and his ability to seek out those using the roads whilst under the influence of alcohol and illicit drugs.

Not only this, but PC Holland's drug drive arrests over the last year surpasses the majority of Roads Policing officers, having made 84 arrests - 50 of those for drink or drug driving.

Whether it is at the start of a 12-hour shift, or within its last ten minutes, Nathan shows the same level of commitment, never seeking the easy way out and seeing a job through to completion; making good use of new technologies available such as the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) mobile phone application, which he will study to find likely locations of suspect vehicles.

This, combined with his great 'Bobbies Nose', Nathan is a formidable opponent to those showing a flagrant disregard for the laws of the road and the lives of other road users. 

This high level of motivation rubs off on colleagues too, inspiring them to go and seek out traffic offences,  all too often under his guidance. His supervisors report that it is not uncommon for other officers on the block to ask if they can double crew for a shift with Nathan so that they can learn more about traffic offences and build their confidence.

PC Holland's influence is not confined to road policing and, although his nomination is largely focused on drug and drink drivers, his supervisors describe him as a well-rounded response officer who is respected amongst peers. He is a tutor constable and is able to mould new recruits to his high standards.

His victim care is at the heart of his investigative work and he can often be found emailing and updating victims of crime on rest days. Whilst this is not encouraged, Nathan prides himself on keeping victims updated and will often fit himself around their schedules to ensure they're always well-informed.

Police Constable Nathan Holland continues to build on and develop his knowledge of policing and will attend conferences in his own time, such as those run by the Society of Evidence-based Policing. This commitment to personal development keeps him ahead of the curve and is shared with others on the unit, creating a high-performing and knowledgeable team - he is certainly worthy of our recognition.

Serving with the Constabulary for the past three years, Jack is based at Blacon and is described by his supervisors as an officer who is “consistently striving to deliver justice for victims of crime and make Cheshire a safer place." 

In July 2023, Constable Ryder was the first officer on the scene of an incident whereby a staff member at a chemical plant had been exposed to a highly corrosive acid. 

Under considerable pressure, PC Ryder correctly and confidently applied JESIP principles, identifying that, while not a Major Incident for police, an ETHANE message should be delivered while also coordinating rapidly arriving resources at the scene from multiple emergency services. 

Due to his actions the police response was measured and did not impact day-to-day business, Sergeant Ieuan Griffiths commented that he had little to do upon arrival as Jack had already ensured the relevant parties were co-located and briefed. 

PC Ryder received an email of recognition from Insp Wilson in respect of his work here, all the more impressive given Insp Wilson was formerly in charge of JESIP training. 

In the following October, PC Ryder was working on a proactive drugs dog operation within Chester city centre, when he noticed a suspicious male trying to avoid officers. Acting quickly, PC Ryder detained him for a search, finding a large quantity of Ketamine weighing 300g and a subsequent section 18 search resulting in £2000 cash and a knuckle duster being recovered. 

PC Ryder volunteered to take the case on rather than hand it to CID, seeking advice and support to develop his own investigative abilities and going above and beyond any expectations of him as a response officer. Having drawn together multiple lines of enquiry and examining multiple mobile phones he has submitted the case to CPS, who are highly likely to charge the matter. 

In November, Constable Ryder attended a concern for safety job, correctly identifying that the FCC grading of risk was understated. Making his way there on a G1 response he formed grounds to enter the premises, finding the occupant hanging by the neck. PC Ryder immediately cut the occupant down and with colleagues provided emergency first aid. Sadly, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. 

PC Ryder took it upon himself to speak with the deceased's closest friend who had arrived at the scene, passing on the sad news with care and compassion. At the time, PC Ryder was suffering a bereavement of his own and was due to attend a funeral the next day. But despite this, and with admirable professionalism, he remained calm and collected throughout, delivering exceptional service. 

Only a matter of weeks later PC Ryder again performed CPR with his efforts being praised by the attending paramedics who stated his work was of the “highest calibre". 

PC Ryder has been praised by HHJ Everett at Chester Crown Court having dealt with two highly disruptive “Freemen of the Land" who had interrupted a trial at the court. Alongside PC David Fallows he safely removed the men without the situation descending into violence and allowed the trial to successfully conclude.

Warrington Police Constable, Abi Delaney is still young in Service but often displays the aptitude and knowledge of an Officer with 10+ years of experience. She is highly motivated, and proactive and always has an extremely positive attitude whilst at work. She is approachable and always there to offer support to her colleagues and can be relied on by her supervisors with complex or demanding tasks.

From April 2023 – April 2024 Abi has made 106 arrests and, despite working on a four-day-in/four-day-off shift pattern, this equates to approximately 17 arrests per working month.

Abi excels in her workload management and often has some of the lowest carried crimes on the LPU, meaning she gives excellent victim service.

Abi has recently attended a specific Victim Code of Practice (VCOP) course to become a VCOP point of contact for Warrington LPU, which makes perfect sense given her attention to detail when managing crimes and she will pass her knowledge on effortlessly to her colleagues within the LPU.

Abi recently volunteered to work on a force-wide initiative to locate and arrest wanted persons who had been outstanding for a number of months. This involved shift changes and a chance to work in plain clothes, to which Abi gave it her all, as she does with all aspects of her work, and she was complimented on a number of occasions by the Command Team for her efforts and excellent results.

Abi has had to deal with her fair share of challenging incidents over the past 12 months which have included a number of traumatic sudden deaths, one of which was a juvenile at his family home. Despite her level of service and young age, she showed outstanding levels of compassion and professionalism whilst dealing with the family and her manner when doing so would have had a positive effect on them during their time in need.

Even whilst dealing with her own difficult family matters she is always on time, presentable, positive, approachable, and willing to help anyone of her colleagues with issues regardless of size and she will often stay on beyond her shift to do this. 

Constable Delaney is a valued member of our Team and is fully deserving of a Response Officer of the year nomination.

Alex Smith has been with the Constabulary for over 20 years and has only had seven sick days throughout his entire career serving Macclesfield.

Police Constable Smith consistently delivers a fantastic service to the public of Cheshire and investigates crime with tenacity and determination. An example of this is when he recently attended a burglary of a vulnerable elderly female. Throughout this investigation, he identified there may be many more similar victims in the area based on the modus operandi and his experience. He acted on this by conducting extensive house-to-house enquiries to identify further victims and provide reassurance and education.

He attends work every shift with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude which is infectious to his colleagues even reacting positively to less desirable tasks. This attitude combined with his experience makes him a leader on the team.

Despite having tutored many students, he is still always willing to assist and take new officers under his wing and regularly volunteers for overtime to assist the Constabulary.

Alex will be the first to admit he is not technology savvy and has faced challenges adapting to the ever changing system and software changes and upgrades - he embraces the changes and does everything he can to educate himself.

Colleagues will regularly approach Alex with problems or concerns based on his experience and knowledge and he will always oblige in offering advice and recalling stories of experiences he has been through himself to settle their minds.

Police Constable Alex Smith is always willing to assist colleagues where he can including regularly sacrificing his own finishing times to do so. He will also regularly volunteer for less desirable tasks so his colleagues don’t have to.